The Walmart owned streaming service, Vudu is set for a global expansion starting this year claim reports. Although the service is currently low profile compared to Netflix or Hulu, Walmart’ promotion and backing could see the service become a threat to the big boys.

Vudu looking to expand

Reports of the expansion come from Variety who claim the streaming video service will launch in Mexico this summer and then move onto Latin American, Europe and Asia before the years end.

The article quotes unnamed sources confirming the story, although Walmart are making no comment on the story. But the plans make sense and mirror what Netflix are doing Internationally, they currently have streaming services in Canada, Latin America, UK & Ireland.

Vudu does have a big benefit over Netflix though, and that is the potential of advertising and cross-promotion through the worlds biggest retailer. Walmart have over 5,000 stores in 26 different countries. Walmart have started the ball rolling with the launch of it’s dvd to digital movie service, allowing customers to convert dvd’s to cloud based streaming files.

The Walmart service which they purchased in early 2010 fully integrates with the Walmart website. Vudu allows customers to rent or buy movies online and stream to a number of connected devices. The service allows one-off rentals and buy options using credit as well as pre-paid cards.